2008 NFL Draft, Who Got It Right??

Well folks another one in the books, now time for some analysis. There has been a lot said about what the Chiefs did this year in the draft and they had a great one, but to me the top award has to go to and I cant believe I am saying this the Washington Redskins, thats right I bet you didnt think the Skins even knew how to spell the word draft let alone run a great one but they did.

Some of what the Redskins did was the absentmindedness of other teams. For instance the Devin Thomas pick at 34, I know people say one year wonder and all that but in 3 or 4 years I think he will be the best WR to come out of this draft. Then in a span of what seemed like of a few minutes they picked up Fred Davis out of USC, a very athletic TE and then just to top it of picked up WR Malcolm Kelly out of Oklahoma, he’s not the fastest guy but at 6′4 talk about someone who can go up and get the ball at the point of attack. They seem to be really trying to put a lot of weapons around Jason Campbell and I think that is a good idea. The Skins may just be relevant again in this decade.

I also liked what the Cowboys did even though I think that no matter what you think of Felix Jones, if Rashard Mendenhall is on the board when that 22 pick comes up you HAVE to pick him. I mean Mendenhall and Willie Parker in the backfield can anyone see what I am seeing, images of the of BUS and I aint talking about Greyhound. I also liked the picks of Mike Jenkins, the CB out of USF as well as the later choice of Tashard Choice, he is a great insurance policy if Marion Barber holds out. I am most pleased with a Cowboy selection that wasn’t a draft pick at all but rather a free agent signing right after. The Cowboys signed DE Marcus Dixon out of Hampton to a 3 year, 1.1 million dollar contract. Most of you may remember that Dixon is the young man that was charged and convicted of statuory rape in GA a few years ago even though the jury found the sex to be consensual. He ended up serving 15 months of what was supposed to be a 10 year sentence. The case was engulfed in a firestorm of racial tension that divided a town. The kid got out and had 4 productive seasons at Hampton without incident, this young man has a lot to play for and I know that I will be watching closely. If he is focused he could be a force in this league.

Other Thoughts

• Don’t know what it says about the QB situation in Green Bay and Miami that they both took QB’s except Aaron Rodgers and Cleo Lemon watch your back.
• Somehow he got lost in the mess, but look for Mike Hart and Joseph Addai to give teams nightmares next season for the Colts.
• Steve Slayton could be a gamebreaker, the Houston Texans very quitely picked him up with a 3rd round pick. Watch out for him.
• Nice to see Caleb Campbell, the safety out of Army, get drafted. He was the Lions last pick and while most people think he was somewhat of a publicity pick, I think if given a chance he could be a solid player at either LB or SS. He doesn’t have great speed but he is smart and disciplined and the boy can hit. Could be a John Lynch type.
• Really really impressed with what the Baltimore Ravens did draft wise. Joe Flacco is a great pick at QB, hopefully they can get some stability at the QB position because Kyle Boller aint it. Then they got Ray Rice, he will be a great compliment to Willis McGahee and a steal at the 55th pick. Look at the rest of the picks, Taveres Gooden, LB out of Miami, the tough guy Tom Zbikowski from Notre Dame at FS, and even in what I think will be a sleeper pick,WR  Justin Harper, the 6′4 198 pounder out of VT. Harper is raw and does need to put on about 10-20 more pounds, but he could be special.

Well thats all folks.